05 October 2012

When it comes to college admissions,
the SAT (or the ACT) is the one factor that can trump everything else. If you
have lousy grades, low involvement and a lackluster application essay – but you
have a 2300 on your SAT, colleges will still take interest in you.

All colleges claim they “look at
students holistically.” Sure, they will look past your SAT, and in some cases
they will favor students with lower SAT scores and high involvement/grades over
those with higher SATs and lower grades. But, still a 2300 gets you in the door
almost anywhere.

That’s just another way of saying that
your SAT can make or break your college application.

Why? Because it makes admissions
counselors’ jobs a whole lot easier. You can compare all students across the
board on SAT scores, but a 3.8 at one school is not the same as a 3.8 at
another, especially as some high schools are notorious for grade inflation.
We’re looking at you, schools who give students 5.0 GPAs instead of 4.0.

What’s a good SAT
score:Most colleges set minimum SAT requirements, and if
you want to be accepted into the top schools, you’ll need to score in the top
90th percentile.Your ranges
will have to be 620-760 (reading), 630-780 (math) and 620-760 (writing) or a
combined 1870-2300, according to about.com.

The average SAT score is around a 500
for each section or a 1500 total – specifically 497 (reading), 514 (math) and
489 (writing). The Writing Section, being the newest section, is still
considered by most schools; however, the Math and Critical Reading Sections are
weighted a lot more heavily. Writing was added in 2005, and some colleges that
focus on engineering or other math-related fields won’t even factor it in.

How many times
should I take the SAT:As many times as you can tolerate. It
can get expensive, but the benefits of taking the test multiple times can far
outweigh the $49 administration fee. First of all, you might not be as anxious
the second time you take the test, and you might be a little familiar with the
types of questions and structures. You’ll have an idea of what worked and what
didn’t.

Also, a lot of colleges will combine
your SAT section scores. So, if you take it one time and score a 650 (math),
750 (reading) and 730 (writing); then you take it again and score 760 (math), 620
(reading) and 700 (writing), some colleges will only consider the 760, 750 and
730. So, why wouldn’t you take the test as many times as you can?

SAT Tips: How to
improve SAT score:Practice is the best way to improve
your SAT score, but you have to practice the right way. Randomly taking
practice tests won’t help much. Instead, you need to sit down and create a
legitimate strategy or action plan for your SAT.

First, take a full practice test to get your
brain used to thinking for over 3.5 hours straight – just to find out where you
struggle. Then, it’s best to work through your problematic areas with a tutor,
as he/she will help you break these complex questions down into simple patterns
and structures. And if tutoring prices
are a concern, don’t let it worry you. You can always find great tutors that
will work with your price range. At this point, focus only on your problematic
areas until you improve.Then, take another full practice test,
and repeat the process of focusing on your most difficult questions until you
feel confident with these problems. After this, take one more practice test so
you can connect everything you learned with everything you already knew. When
you take your practice tests, try to mimic the actual test’s scenarios. Take
them in a public, but quiet place (like a library or coffee shop) and sit down
for the entire 3 hours and 45 minutes. Take the tests in the order they appear
on the SAT and only take breaks as the test offers them.

14
comments:

I have read and I can agree with your points mentioned about school admission and SAT scores. But I would like to say one thing that getting admission based on high SAT score with low grades is possible only in a few of such institutions as most of the boards give importance to grades. Even though, if you managed to get higher SAT scores and average grades, that will be fine for even more institutions. I work for an academic essay writing service and as part of my work I engaged in projects to help students with admission essays. Based on my experiences, it's not a good idea to only concentrate in SAT but make sure that you get at least pleasing grades. I have shared just my opinion here, hope you don't think bad about it.

Though, I completely agree with your suggestion to practice and work hard on getting high SAT scores. One who make efforts with dedication can earn much better scores, for sure.